Part II

By Aubrey C Norton

In the first part of this article which appeared in the November 2007 issue of the Guyana Review, I profferred the view that the “national response has to proceed in the context of international realities and must include a diplomatic strategy that makes the international environment conducive to the promotion of the national interest”.

In this second and final part of the series the international context and the elements of a Guyana diplomatic strategy are discussed.

The International Context

When, in 1992, the framework Convention on Climate Change was signed, it was generally agreed that the developed industrial countries were, in large measure, responsible for the emission of greenhouse gases and for the concomitant global warming. As a consequence, developed and developing countries were seen as having “common but differentiated responsibilities” and differing capabilities to respond to climate change. Consequently, the Convention stated that “accordingly developed country parties should take the lead in combating climate change and the adverse effects thereof”

Moreover, the Convention requires developed countries to “provide such financial resources , including the transfer of technology, needed by the developing country parties to meet the agreed full incremental costs of implementing measures” “to protect the climate system for the benefit of present and future generations of humankind